Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 35897426)

I think €40bn is closer to what the EU is actually aiming for, but they won't get it. Where is the deduction in their calculations for what we have put into the investment bank, for example?

As I said before, there are two sides to the balance sheet. We owe them, but they owe us.

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 35897455)

and has SAS training.

Originally Posted by Osem (Post 35897419)

I really don't know why anyone would be surprised by this either. Throughout its history the EU has proved to be utterly intransigent and concerned only with achieving their ultimate aim of a single European state no matter what the cost. Compromise and pragmatism are anathema to the Eurocrats. Time and time again they have proved themselves to be unwilling to negotiate and yet the usual suspects here still trot out the same old pro-EU, anti-UK, claptrap, citing anything the PM does as inflammatory yet ignoring all the hostile messages emanating from Brussels. <snip>


so keen are they to cling onto what they presumably see as the EU security blanket. Of course they're not too keen to talk about what's being done to Greece, what that nice cosy EU security blanket feels like in Athens, who's really running the EU circus and just what lengths they'll go to in order to achieve their goal. They're used to having their own way and we're seeing it yet again, making up so called settlement figures out of nowhere which of course is they way they've run Europe's finances for years. The EU has proved itself to be uninterested in meaningful reform, unwilling to compromise and totally preoccupied with trying to make the UK pay as much as possible for having the audacity to decide its own future. If there is no deal at the end of all this the EU will be responsible for that not the UK.

Originally Posted by jonbxx (Post 35897467)

Interesting article from a law firm on the legal position or case for a 'divorce' payment - https://www.dlapiper.com/en/europe/i...-legal-issues/

Basically, there's no legal basis or precedent for a final payment but there are some unanswered issues about payments that need to be clarified (Nigel Farages pension for example) It seems the decision of whether to pay and how much is a political one.

One point to consider going forward is how the UK will appear to counties wanting to set up trade agreements if it appears to walk without addressing ongoing commitments.

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35897342)

Yes and no.

Read that how you will, significant errors would indicate a problem.

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 35897372)

She's played precisely the right card. The EU needs to know we're serious. There's also the small matter of a general election, and her obvious calculation that there are votes in it.

Originally Posted by RizzyKing (Post 35897532)

We will not be paying anywhere near 40 billion euros if we pay anything at all honestly thank god some of the people on this forum are not part of the negotiating team as they just hand everything over. The EU's position is not one of strength that some of you seem convinced they are in fact they are quite weak hence all the tough talk and high demands trying to give the appearence of strength in the absence of it. Get a spine some of you and stop dribbling over everything that comes out of the EU the UK holds the upper hand in a number of areas and May knows it that's why she's prepared to walk away rather then take a crap deal.

Originally Posted by jonbxx (Post 35897588)

I thunk things are getting a little antagonistic on both sides at the moment. Surely the correct response to a proposed €100bn bill would be 'show me your working and we'll talk', not just 'no'. And vice versa, it shows a degree of naivety to think that dropping such a figure would go down well

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 35897600)

it goes down well with the sell outs they would give the EU any thing it wants ,money /sovereignty/ kidney /first born child no price is too high to sell out the UK .

Originally Posted by papa smurf (Post 35897600)

it goes down well with the sell outs they would give the EU any thing it wants ,money /sovereignty/ kidney /first born child no price is too high to sell out the UK .